Hamilton refusing to write off Rosberg

Lewis Hamilton is convinced he will need to be at "100% of his max" for the rest of the season despite recording a fourth straight victory over team-mate Nico Rosberg in Spain to earn the championship lead.

Hamilton held off Rosberg by just 0.6s but it was a tense final stint as the Brit was clearly not comfortable behind the wheel and sounded irritated over the radio. Hamilton questioned why he was brought in early for his second stop, as well as complaining about not getting enough feedback from the pit wall, and he admits Rosberg gave him plenty to think about in the closing stages.

"Nico did a fantastic job today, he was very quick," said Hamilton. "I struggled to keep him behind and was grateful I was able to. I struggled a lot with the balance and really had to rely on my engineers a lot more to give me the gaps and where to find time.

"I also struggled with my settings, I was moving them up and down, up and down, Nico was generally quicker all weekend but luckily I was able to keep him behind."

Rosberg has not beaten his team-mate over a race distance this season, but Hamilton believes the final stint in Bahrain proves how close it will be between he and his team-mate all season, and he is determined not to let his momentum slip.

"I do, but as you can see today it can still go either way when you don't get the car right on it, Nico's going to be right there," he said when asked whether he had the psychological edge currently. "This season requires me to be at 100% of my max every race. Monaco I'm going to really work hard to make sure I have a balance I'm happy with because last year I struggled like crazy there."